Extensible trough or flume.



APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY barren sraa ns ra rnnr ermine.

PATRICK MAGINNIS, 0F KIMBALL, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR. BY MUSNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE FL'UME IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION.

EXTENSIBLE TROUGII OR FLUID/IE.

. App

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 29, 1912.

I oriented Sept. 7.5, 1913.

Serial No. 687,231.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Pivrnioli lvlaolxxis, a citizen of the United States residing at Kimball, in the county of Kimball and State oi Nebraska have invented a new and uscful Extensible tllrough or Flume, o't. which the :t'ollmving is a specification.

The invention relates to inmrovements in extensible water troughs and irrigatitm flumes and analogous conduits.

The object of the presentinvcntion is to improve the construction of extensible troughs or flames more especially that shown and described in Patent, No. 749,871., granted to me Jan. I1!) ltlO-at, and to provide a simple inexpensive and etlicient device for adjusting the inner amt outer clamping members to depress the overlapped ends ot' the sections oil? the trough or 'tlumc into the groove or channel of the outer clamping member and term a water tight joint between the said sections.

The invention also has for its object to equip a metallic water trough or tlume with means for enabling logs to be lloated down the flame, or a boat to be used on;thc same without: liability of injuring the sides of the flame.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for detachably enabling tenders to be readily hung within the Home at the sides thereof when it is desired to tloat material through the same, so that when such tenders are temporarily applied to an irrigation or other. flume, they may be rcmoved when no longer necessary.

lv'ith these and other objects in View. the invention consists in the ('(lllStt'tlt't'lUH and novel combination of parts hereinattta' 'tully described, illustrated in the it(ftOlllpttilylllfj drawing, and pointed out in the claims hercto appended; it being uuderstoml that various changes in the form. proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

in the drawing: .Figureil is a sectional perspective view of a portion of an extensible trough or flume, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view through one of the joints. Fig. 3 is a detailview of the adjacent ends of two of the longitudinal fender guards or sections. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view ot one end of the outer clamping member shown in l igs. l and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a joint, showing another tiorm of exterior clamping member. l ig. ti is a detail sectional view, illustrating the manner oitj supporting the tlume by struc tural steel or analogous material. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view oil one o'[ the channeled clamping plates.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the tigures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preterred embodiment oi? the invention. the trough or tlumc consists of a series ot approximately s ani-cylindrical sheet metal sections 1. preferably coustructed of sheet steel and having thei adjacent ends 2 overlapped and torming a continuous water conduit, adapted to be employed in the construction of irrigation thuncs water troughs and analogousconduits. The semi-cvlindrical sections. which may be constructed o't any desired size, are preferably galvanized to prevent rust. and the overlapped ends are firmly clamped between interior and exterior clamping members I-i and -it..

The exterior clamping member 1-, which is curved to conform to the ctmliguration ot the sections, is provided at its inner face with a groove or channel 5. The inner clamping member I which is ap n'oximatel3 semi-circular in cross section. is curved longitudinally to conform to the couliglu'ation of thesect ionsot tlretrough or llume, and it presents cross sectionally a smooth straight upper edge and an inner or lower curved edge. The inner curved or convex 'lacc ot the inner clamping member is adapted to curve the overlapi'md portions of the ends ot the sectiitms outward into the groove or channel of the outer member, and the groove thus ttormcdby the inner member receives the latter. and the upper face of the inner member terms a cmitinuation ot the ad jacent surtaces ot the sections l and the smooth continuous surfaces thus provided as set forth in the said patent.

The inner and outer clamping members are adjustably connected to compress the overhtpped ends of the sections of the Home into the channel or depression ol the outer clamping member by means of clamping plates (3, approximately U-shaped in cross grooves or channels the upper edges of the sections and the terminal portions of the inner and outer clamping members. The outer clamping member is equlpped with threaded stems 7, extending through openings 8 of the channeled clamping plates and piercing hangers 9 and receiving nuts 10, which engage the hangers and draw the ends of the inner and outer clamping members upward within the grooves or channels. As the inner clamping member is drawn upward within the grooves or channels of the clamping plates, the inner and outer flanges .11, which are provided with inner inclined faces 12, form wedges and force the said inner clamping member outwardly and the outer clamping member inwardly, and thereby compress the overlapped ends within the groove or channel of the outer member to form a watertight joint and to seat the inner member within the joint in flush relation with the sections of the trough or flume. The employment of the channeled clamping plates for wedging the inner and outer clamping members and forcing them toward each other enables 'a large amount of surplus material, which is ordinarily thrown away or discarded, to be employed in flume construction. The threaded stems 7 may be formed integral with the outer clamping member, as illustrated in. Figs. 1, 4t and 6, or they may be formed by the terminal portions of a separate rod 1.8,fit-ted in an exteriorlongitudinal I groove 14; of the outer clamping member, or

any other suitable adjusting means may be employed for drawing the inner and outer clamping members upwardly into the grooves or channels of theclamping plates.

The channeled clamping plates fit in the angles of the hangers 9, which are substan tially L-shaped, being composed of horizontal supporting portions and vertical attaching portions, which are bolted or otherwise secured to side sills 15. The hangers 9 con sist of sections or pieces of angle metal, and the horizontal supporting portions extend inwardly from the sills 15, which are supported .by posts 16. The ends of the adjacent sills rest upon the upper ends of the posts and are connected by outer plates or pieces 17, preferably constructed of wood and resting upon the upper ends of the posts and overlapping the joints of the sills. The

connecting plates or pieces 17 are retained in position upon the posts by means of vertical pins 18, partially embedded in the osts and in the lower portions of the said 10 ates or pieces 17. The posts are connected at their upper portions by transverse bars or members 19 and oppositely inclined braces 20. The bar or member 19 is horizontally disposed and extends beneath the ,trougn or flume. Any preferred form of frame-work, however, may be employed, and if desired the tlume may be supported by structural steel or analogous material.

As illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawing, the channeled clamping plate may be arranged in the angle of a metallic sill 21, provided at the upper and lower edges with the oppositely extending horizontal flanges 22 and 23, the upper flange 22 being provided with openings to receive the threaded stems of the outer clamping members. The bottom flange and the lower portion ofthe flanged beam'21 are bolted, or otherwise secured to posts or standards 24, having their flanges or wings fitted against the beamand forming attaching portions. The metallic frame-work is designed to be provided with a transverse bar or member 25 and to be braced in any suitablemanner. Instead. of employing a Z-beam, as shown in Fig. 6, any other suitable flanged beam may be utilized, and when the sills are constructed of material of this character, the L-shaped hangers are unnecessary as the flanged beam will perform the double function of a sill and a hanger. The sills 15, which extend above the plane of the side edges of the sections of the flume, may be connected by diagonally arranged braces 26, but these braces may be omitted when not necessary or undesirable.

In order to enable logs to be floated down a flame, or a boat to be used in the same without injuring the sides of the flume, the latter is equipped with fenders composed of longitudinal boards or sections 27, arranged edgewise in a vertical position within the flume at the sides thereof and detachably suspended from the sills by means of hangers 28. The hangers 28' are preferably con.-

structed of metal, and each consists of a lower vertical attaching terminal portion 29, an inclined body portion and an upper L-shaped portion 30, forming a hook to engage over the upper edge of the sill. The hook consists of a horizontal outwardly extending portion and a depending verticalv portion, the horizontal outwardly extending portion resting upon the upper edge of the sill and the depending portion fitting against or engaging the outer face of the sill. The hook-shaped hangers extend downwardly and inwardly from the'upper edges of the sills, and they enable the boards or sections of the fenders to be readily applied to and removed from the flume. The adjacent ends of the longitudinal sections of the fenders are held in alinement by means of. a book 31 and an eye 32. The hook 31, which is provided at the inner end of its shank with an eye or opening 83, is pivoted to one of the adjacent ends of. .the sections by a nail 34:, or other suitable fastening device, and the eye 32, which is engaged by the bill of the hook, may consist of a staple or any other term of eye. The hook and the eye will maintain the ends of the sections in llush relation, so that the sections will not present shoulders to the lugs and obstruct the passage ot the llume. The ends of the sections of the tenders may be connected by any other suitable means.

WVhat is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with two trough or 'tlume sections having overlapped ends, of inner and outer members arranged to clamp the overlapped ends of the said sections between them, and adjusting means for the clamping members including an approximately U- shaped clamping plate having a groove or channel receiving the inner and outer members and provided with inclined or angularly related walls for forcing the said me1nhers toward each other as the same are moved into the groove or channel, and means For :lorcing the said members into the groove or channel of the clamping plate.

2. In a device of the class described, the eoml'iination with two trough or Home sections having overlapped ends, of inner and outer members arranged to clamp the overlapped ends of the said sections between them, a channeled clamping plate arranged at the upper edges of the sections in position to receive the terminal portions of the inner and outer clamping members and having side flanges provided with inwardly converging inner faces, and adjustable means for drawing the terminal portions of the said clamping members into the groove or channel of the clamping plate to cause the said members to clamp firmly the overlapped ends of the sections.

3. A device of the class described comprising a frame-work including side sills, L- shaped hangers having horizontal support ing portions and vertical attaching portions secured to the side faces of the sills, thune sections having overlapped ends, inner and outer members arranged to clamp the overlapped ends of the sections, channeled clamping plates arranged in the angles of the L- shaped hangers and fitted against the lower faces of the horizontal supporting portions of the same and receiving the terminal portions of the clamping members, threaded stems piercing the channeled clamping plates and the hangers and connected with the outer clamping member, and nuts arranged on the threaded stems for drawing the clamping plates upward into the grooves or channels of the clamping plates.

4. A device oi the class described includ ing a tlume, and tenders arranged within the flame at opposite sides thereof and extending along the same to prevent objects floating through the flume :l'rom injuring the sides thereof.

5. A device of the class described including a flume, fenders arranged within the flume at opposite sides thereof and extending along the same to prevent objects floating through the llume from contacting with the sides thereof, and hangers detachably suspending the tenders within the flume.

(3. A device of the class described including a flame, fenders arranged within the flame at opposite sides thereof and extending along the same to prevent objects floating through the flume :lrom contacting with the sides thereof, said tenders being composed of longitudinal sections, hangers dctachably suspending the sections within the l'lume, and means for detachably connecting the ends of the sections to hold the same together.

7. A device of the class described including a lhune, fenders arranged within the flame at opposite sides thereof and extending along the same to prevent objects floating through the ilume from contacting with the sides thereof, said fenders being composed of longitudinal sections, and hangers secured to the sections of the flume and eX- tending upwardly and outwardly therefrom and provided at their upper ends with terminal hooks.

S. A device of the class described comprising a supporting frame-work including side sills, a tlume composed of sheet metal sections supported within the frame-work below the upper edges of the sills, fenders arranged within the Hume at the sides thereof, and metallic hangers connected with the tenders and provided with terminal hooks detachably engaging the upper edges of the sills.

In testil'l'lony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailixed my signature in the presence oi two witnesses.

PATRICK MAGINNIS.

Witnesses M. E. SrnAeUn, H. C. Sermon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

